Focus and Regency Centers to Kick Off New Project in Vernon Hills

On April 21, 2017, the Focus team will join Regency Centers, Atlantic Realty Partners, and members of the Vernon Hills community to celebrate the ground breaking of Mellody Farm, a mixed use development community is a project consisting of 274,000 SF of retail space and 260 luxury rental apartments at the historic Hawthorn Mellody Farm Dairy site.

Located on the Northeast corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Townline Road, the retail portion of the project will be developed by Regency Centers and occupied by retailers like Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack and REI. Regency Centers has an excellent track record in the space, most recently developing similar centers like the Glen Oak Plaza in Glenview as well as the Civic Center Plaza in Niles. Regency Centers has partnered with Graycor for construction management services, another familiar face having completed over 100 projects in the Chicagoland area.

Mellody Farm groundbreaking. Regency Centers April 21, 2017.

Focus and Atlantic Realty Partners will develop the apartment building named The Atworth at Mellody Farm and construction management services for the apartments will be provided by Focus subsidiary, Focus Construction. The apartments will be fully integrated with the retail development as to provide a seamless experience for residents and visitors. The 3-story wood framed building will be wrapped around a pre-cast concrete parking garage, in a similar style to the Reserve at Glenview apartment development. The Atworth will be made up of 260 luxury apartments which will offer the latest trends in amenities and finishes, including an outdoor swimming pool with grill terrace and sundeck, and a fitness and yoga studio, game room and event space as well as a dog spa with outdoor run and several acres of nature conservancy.

Mellody Farm groundbreaking. Regency Centers April 21, 2017.

Focus Development’s Vicky Lee heads the development team and worked with Regency Centers to successfully entitle the development. The Focus Construction team is led by Wade Giorno (Senior Project Manager), Brendan O’Carroll (Assistant Project Manager) and David Beane (Senior Superintendent). “Our team is very excited to work on this project and breathe new life into a very historic part of Vernon Hills,” said Focus Vice President of Construction, Josh Stark. Construction will begin April 17, 2017 and is expected to take approximately 15 months. Including the construction of The Atworth, Focus is projecting to have an exceptional year, with revenues over $90 million.